Film review: Belfast
Kenneth Branagh’s touching film about a boy’s life in the Troubles in Northern Ireland
Sean Penn’s last film as a director “pretty much got him booed off the red carpet” at Cannes, but on the basis of Flag Day, in which he also stars, he has clearly “still got it”, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. In this “very watchable and well-made family drama”, he plays the real-life swindler John Vogel, who was pursued by the FBI in the 1990s for forging $100 bills on an industrial scale. Penn exudes a “buzzard-like watchfulness” as the sociopathic Vogel; his “seductive address to the camera is almost unrivalled”. As a director, too, “he knows how to bring the horsepower”. The film is based on a memoir by Vogel’s daughter, Jennifer (played by Dylan Penn, Sean Penn’s daughter with Robin Wright), a journalist who must come to terms with her father’s ceaseless lies. “There are some pretty broad emotional strokes here”, but the film made “with some style”.
Penn certainly “makes the utmost” of his “craggily dissolute features”, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail, but I found him “show-offy”, and the film heavy-handed. Jennifer, who is at the centre of the story, becomes “wincingly over-lyrical in narrating the account of her blighted childhood”; and a subplot about her path into journalism also fails to thrill. The screenplay is by the normally reliable Butterworth brothers, Jez and John-Henry; still, it’s “not a bad film”, with its echoes of Paper Moon (1973) and foot-tapping soundtrack. While there’s a frisson to the familial casting, said Alistair Harkness in The Scotsman – Penn’s son is also in the film – it doesn’t quite make up for the sometimes “hackneyed way the story” plays out. The “Terrence Malick-style camera work” and “ornate voice-over”, meanwhile, seem designed to make the film “seem more profound” than it is.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Langdale Chase Hotel: a cosy nook in the Lake District
The Week Recommends This Victorian villa has breathtaking views and expansive gardens
By Natasha Langan Published
-
Orkney's war on stoats
In the Spotlight A coordinated stoat cull on the Scottish islands has proved successful – and conservationists aren't slowing down
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 26 October - 1 November
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Vanessa Bell: A World of Form and Colour – an 'expansive' exhibition
The Week Recommends The 'sweeping' show features over 140 works from paintings to ceramics
By The Week UK Published
-
Kate Summerscale picks her favourite true crime books
The Week Recommends The writer shares works by Janet Malcolm, Helen Garner and Mark O'Connell
By The Week UK Published
-
The Forsyte Saga: 'faultless' production with a 'pitch-perfect' cast
The Week Recommends Theatrical adaptation of John Galsworthy's novels is a 'must-see' show
By The Week Published
-
6 exciting homes for athletes
Feature Featuring a rock-climbing wall in New York and a basketball-tennis court in Washington
By The Week Staff Published
-
Peter Ames Carlin's 6 favorite books on pop culture icons
Feature The author recommends works by James McBride, Jim Bouton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Wild Robot: animated adventure is 'warm, funny and wise'
The Week Recommends 'Sharply written and richly detailed' adaptation of Peter Brown's best-selling book
By The Week UK Published
-
Francis Bacon: Human Presence – a 'stirring, splendid' exhibition
The Week Recommends 'Riveting' show at the National Portrait Gallery explores the artist's 'wild' portraits
By The Week UK Published
-
Robert McCrum shares his favourite books on sport
The Week Recommends Writer and editor picks works by Nick Hornby, David Goldblatt and others
By The Week UK Published